BCCI rejects ECB's Champions League

The BCCI has decided not to play England's version of the T20 Champions League, scheduled in October in Sharjah.

Written by Press Trust of India

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London:

The Indian Cricket Board has rejected England's invitation to play in their version of Champions League to be held in Sharjah in October, giving a new twist to the wrangling between the two Boards over the Twenty20 event.

BCCI Vice-President and Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi has conveyed India's decision to England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Executive David Collier, who had sent the invite.

India's refusal to take part in ECB's Twenty20 initiative came a day after BCCI made it clear that it would go ahead with its own version of the Champions League in India and was prepared to leave out teams from England if it did not agree to the terms and conditions.

The BCCI replied on Monday saying that, though it wished the ECB all the best with its tournament, it was not in a position to accept the invitation.

Modi has also clearly informed the eight IPL franchises that they can participate only in tournaments run and approved by the BCCI.

Both BCCI and ECB are insisting on staging their versions of Champions League with each claiming that Australian and South African Boards were with them.

Collier had told BBC on Sunday that "I would be bitterly disappointed if all four nations aren't represented by their two top teams. We will be discussing with our counterparts in Australia, South Africa and India to try to iron out the last few items within the rules and regulations."

That ECB offer said that their tournament will be held in Sharjah, which was blacklisted by the Indian government following allegations of match-fixing. That could be another reason for India to skip the event.

"No Indian team will be going there, at least not with the BCCI's permission," cricinfo website quoted sources close to Modi as saying.

The Indian Board has already announced the dates and venues of its own Champions League. New Delhi, Mohali and Jaipur have been named as the venues for the tournament to be held from September 29 to October 8.